


Yearning

by reading_lover



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT (Movies - Muschietti) RPF, IT - Stephen King
Genre: Boys Kissing, BoyxBoy, Bullying, Closeted Richie Tozier, Cuddling, Denial of Feelings, Eddie Kaspbrak - Freeform, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay, Gay Richie Tozier, Hidden Feelings, Humor, LGBTQ Characters, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Minor Violence, Movie: IT (2017), Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, Rated T for Trashmouth, Reddie, Richie Tozier - Freeform, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Secret Crush, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, Swearing, Teen Angst, Teen love, The Losers Club, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, homophobic town, honestly so much fluff, richiexeddie, some cute shit to brighten up your day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 14:56:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21412054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reading_lover/pseuds/reading_lover
Summary: In which one Richie Tozier is smitten with one Eddie Kaspbrak, with no hopes of having his feelings returned.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 7
Kudos: 173





	Yearning

**Author's Note:**

> Wassup my dudes,
> 
> I wrote this little thingy to help myself cope with the ending of It Chapter 2. I mean, give my sons a break! They deserve to be happy. With each other. Preferably with each other.
> 
> I just wanted to address this little, tiny, not so tiny thing: I am very aware of Richie presumably being bisexual and not gay, at least according to the book (although it's never explicitly stated there, trust me, I've read it). I've decided going with the movie plot and making Richie gay, so sorry for the bi erasure, fellow bisexuals! It's for a good cause (I hope). ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, the boys are older here, around 15/16ish. 
> 
> Anyway, sorry for rambling so much. Hope you'll like this short-ish story. I'd really appreciate it if you leave your kudos or a comment (!), but it's totally fine if you don't. I hope you enjoy it either way. 
> 
> I originally published this story on Wattpad. My username is @-readinglover if you ever wanna say hi. :)
> 
> Bye! Luv you guys! Xx

Going back, he realized he's always been this way. The banter, the teasing, he never gave them more than a second thought; unconsciously deciding to blame it on his boisterous, playful and easy going attitude he always maintained. Pushing his emotions aside and cracking a joke, he learned at some point, are much easier (and probably safer) than divulging his secrets.

By the time it turned into something closer to yearning - or maybe it was there all the time but he was too insistent on ignoring it - he couldn't convince himself that it wasn't real anymore. He was so adamant in the way he told himself it wasn't true, that every time he had thought of it or felt it deep in his stomach he hurried to flat out deny its existence.

The day he felt like he couldn't escape it anymore, he unhappily sat down and addressed everything that was going on in his heart. When he had come to recognize his feelings and stopped running away from them, finally allowing a deeper meaning to things he felt rather than thinking as little of them as possible, the revelation left him breathless and raw.

He couldn't pinpoint where it had all started. Maybe it was the way his big brown eyes twinkle and his face reddens at him when he tells a joke; maybe it was the way his lashes flutter and his eyebrows furrow when he's confused; maybe it was how his eyes crinkle when he smiles - oh, that smile. Once he saw Eddie Kaspbrak's shy grin and felt his stomach fill with butterflies, he just knew there was no way back.

Richie Tozier wasn't naive. He knew how people in his town felt about people like him, and he couldn't forget even if he tried. There were more than enough cruel graffities in his school, carved on the kissing bridge, in the public library and pretty much everywhere as a daily reminder.

But no matter what he did, he couldn't get the brown haired boy out of his head. Richie thought, at first, that he'll eventually get over it - he'll return to his normal self soon enough, get his shit together and deny ever having those feelings towards Eddie in the first place. But as time went by, he realized those feelings weren't going away. Matter of fact, they were growing stronger every day, and he had no idea how to stop them.

The fact that Eddie was his best friend didn't really help, either. He hung with him and their group of friends pretty much all the time, and unsurprisingly, being around Eddie so much didn't quite help with making his stupid crush go away.

These thoughts chased Richie wherever he went. He just couldn't help it - he used to make fun of people who were so utterly smitten that they could barely function without the target of their affection, but now he's become one of them. Worse.

He was strolling through the crowded school hall on his way to collect his books for his fourth period, history, when he heard a voice call out: "Hey, T-Trashmouth!"

Richie already knew who it was that shouted his nickname down the hall. He recognized Bill's voice without even turning around, and he caught up to him soon enough, his hand on Richie's shoulder and his hair falling over his eyes as he turned to face him. "Hey, R-Richie. You c-coming to t-the meet up t-today? E-Everyone's gonna b-be there."

"You bet, Big Bill." He gave him a half smile and Bill nodded at him. "G-Great, see you t-then," and they both rushed off to their lockers.

Richie loved hanging around with his friends, he really did, but he felt something in his stomach sink a little at the thought of seeing Eddie. It's becoming harder to act normal around him lately, and he didn't know for how long he could keep up his usual friendly banter around him. He couldn't bare the thought of him finding out, yet didn't know how much longer he could keep it inside.

He put in his locker combination and opened it swiftly, grabbing his things and heading to his class, Eddie still clouding his thoughts.

***

When Richie arrived at Bill's doorstep later that day, his faded Hawaiian shirt flowing in the light breeze and his glasses slightly askew on the bridge of his nose, the rest of the group were already there.

"Stan the man!" Richie smiled when the door opened to reveal his curly headed friend. He gave him a pat on his back as he basically leaped through the door, Stan simply nodding tiredly at Richie.

"Come on, we're watching a movie." Stan said. Richie followed him into the house and down to the basement.

He was about to ask what movie they were watching when he heard a high shriek from downstairs. "OKAY BUT CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TURN THIS SHIT OFF?! This is SO unsanitary. I can barely fucking watch!"

Not needing to ask anymore, he was faced with a rather disgusting sight of a monster on the TV screen. It had sticky-looking green stuff leaking out of its mouth and right onto the face and shoulders of a screaming kid it had captured. In front of the screen sat Bill, Ben and Beverly, sharing a large bowl of popcorn on the sofa. Mike sat on the armchair next to them, while Eddie sat on the rug and leaned his back onto the sofa cushions, half hiding his face in disgust.

Stan sat down next to Bill while taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl. Mike, Bill and Ben greeted him while Beverly and Eddie had their focus on the screen.

Richie smirked, "Horror, huh? That's sick."

"I have to agree with you on this one, because I think I'm going to be fucking sick after watching this." Eddie retorted, his disapproving face fixated on the TV as he spoke.

Richie grinned at his remark and plopped down next to him, slightly bumping his shoulder with Eddie's. "Eh, it could be worst, Eds. It could've been your mom on the screen."

"B-Beep beep, R-Richie." Bill laughed, Ben and Bev joining him. Eddie slapped his arm. "Shut the fuck up. And stop calling me that!" He gave him a warning look, but leaned into his shoulder in a friendly manner nevertheless.

Richie's heart flipped at the contact, but he tried not to show how happy he felt. He gently leaned back into Eddie and dropped his arm next to his, having them almost touching. He felt his face heat up and hoped his blush wasn't visible in the dim TV light.

Despite his love for anything horror related, Richie lost his interest in the movie fairly quickly. Not only did he not remember the movie's name, he probably couldn't explain the plot after about 15 minutes since he started watching it.

The only thing he could focus on was the boy pressed next to him. It wasn't his fault he lost his focus, though: Eddie clenched his shirt whenever a scary scene played, or went as far to hide his face in the fabric of Richie's Hawaiian shirt, making the taller boy forget how to breath for a second. At some point Eddie turned around to grab the popcorn bowl from Bev (or what was left of it), his face so close to Richie's that he could feel his breathing, and he thought he might faint. When he turned back with the bowl and asked if Richie wanted some popcorn, face so close and eyes so soft, Richie couldn't handle it anymore.

"I-I'm good. Got any cigs on you, Bev?" Richie asked almost frantically, using it to excuse himself out of the room while slightly moving away from Eddie, praying to every God he could possibly think of that he wasn't blushing. Bev, focused on the movie and only half listening, tossed him a slightly crumpled pack of Reds, followed by a "sure, Rich."

"Thanks," he caught the pack with ease and hurried upstairs, hoping him leaving didn't seem too abrupt or weird.

Sighing, he ran his hand through his messy dark hair, getting out of Bill's house. Leaving the door slightly open, he took a cigarette out and lit it with his lighter. He leaned against the door frame, eyes closed and a burning cigarette hanging loosely between his fingers. He took a somewhat unskilled drag and exhaled smoke into the night air.

He really needed to get his shit together. Like, right now.

He took two more drags from the quickly burning cigarette, then dropped his hand and dazed off for a few minutes. He only realized he was daydreaming when his cigarette got so short it almost burnt his fingers. He put it out and tossed it to a trash can near him before making his way back inside.

Turned out the movie had already ended because his friends were arguing which horror movie to put on next, and for a moment Richie felt completely exhausted. Ben must have noticed because he was the first one to turn his head when he came back. "Hey Richie, you okay?"

Suddenly very aware of everyone looking at him, he quickly put on his signature grin and casually threw the pack of Reds back to Beverly, making his way back to his spot next to Eddie. "Yeah, all good, Haystack. What movie are we watching next?"

***

They were half way through their third horror movie for the night, and Richie could safely say that everyone was fast asleep by now. It wasn't a problem, of course - Bill invited everyone over for a sleepover since his parents were away, but he did have one slight, tiny problem of his own.

Eddie fell asleep on him.

In between movies, the group of friends took out some sleeping bags and extra pillows Bill had in his house, and got ready to go to sleep after the third movie. Richie didn't think they'd make it until the end, and he was proven right after about 30 minutes or so into the movie, hearing soft snores behind him while quietly snickering to himself.

It was all fun and games until Eddie, giving Richie his third heart attack for the night, decided his shoulder was more comfortable than his own pillow, and claimed it as his for the rest of the movie. Richie, needless to say, was quickly losing every trace of cool he had left in him. Eddie was probably unaware of it since he fell asleep at some point, his head on Richie's chest, hair all over the place, eyes shut and mouth ajar.

Richie thought he'd never make it through the night as is, but at some point Eddie threw his hand over Richie's chest and basically cuddled him like a human teddy bear.

Full on panicking now, Richie contemplated waking Eddie up and getting him to sleep on his pillow instead, but he knew an opportunity like this would probably never come again. He felt kinda bad for enjoying it, he really did, but he convinced himself that he couldn't, against his conscience, wake this little ball of energy up when he looked this peaceful.

Considering waking him up some more but ultimately deciding against it, he shifted a little and tried making himself as comfortable as possible without waking Eddie up. Shifting his left arm awkwardly, not daring to place it on top of Eddie's shoulder, or anywhere else for that matter, he eventually propped it behind his head as a last resort.

It was nearing 2 AM and Richie was suddenly hit by a wave of tiredness, his eyes rapidly fluttering open and close. He feared the morning's inevitable arrival - he feared his friends' reaction to them cuddling, and Eddie's in particular. His worry filled thoughts slowly faded away as sleep consumed him, the dim light from the TV and the faint sounds from the still playing movie accompanying him into his dreamless sleep.

***

Being only half awake and eyes closed, Richie didn't feel a certain weight on his chest that was there the night before. Not knowing what to expect, he was somewhat scared to open his eyes. After what seemed like forever he did though, and just like he thought, a certain brown haired boy wasn't there anymore.

Slowly sitting up, feeling dazed and confused, he realized he was the last one to wake up: all the blankets, sleeping bags and pillows were deserted in the empty room. He felt panic wash over him - has any of their friends seen him and Eddie? And how did Eddie react when he woke up smeared all over him?

He was about to get up and go upstairs, hoping his friends wouldn't mention it if they had noticed, when he heard faint footsteps making their way downstairs.

It was Bill. Richie's tense shoulders relaxed and a sigh of relief left his mouth, expecting it to be Eddie. His hands and shirt had some sort of powder on them - was that flour? He mindlessly thought but didn't ask, assuming he'll find out soon enough. Noticing he was awake, Bill's eyebrows shot up in surprise, expecting him to still be asleep. "Oh, h-hey R-Richie, j-just w-woke up?" He asked pointing at Richie, who's legs were still inside his sleeping bag.

"Yeah dude, didn't sleep so well actually." What a blatant lie, Richie thought to himself. After he stopped panicking about the whole Eddie-is-laying-on-me-what-the-fuck-am-I-supposed-to-do thing last night, it only took him about a minute or so to fall asleep. He hoped Bill wouldn't call him on his bullshit, though, if he knew.

Bill frowned a bit, seemingly confused. "Uh, t-that sucks, Rich. I t-thought-" he cut himself off, seemed thoughtful for a second and instead said, "W-Well, we made p-pancakes, kinda. T-There's a-also cereal. You c-coming?"

Richie paused for a second, almost uncomprehending his words. "Uh, sure, I'll brush my teeth first." He finally said, Bill's weird behavior and flushed cheeks making him feel uneasy - like he knew something and was contemplating whether he should bring it up or not.

Bill nodded and jogged upstairs as Richie got up on his feet.

He wondered who else knew from the group and suddenly felt anxious about going upstairs, taking his time brushing his teeth in the bathroom floor.

***

When he finally entered the kitchen, he was met with the worst mess he'd ever seen: there were leaking eggshells on the counter, a dripping milk carton on the wooden table, a huge amount of Nutella smeared on what was supposed to be the pancakes (that looked pretty burnt), at least half a bag of Cheerios scattered on the floor, and something white and powdery that he suspected was flour on the floor and on Bev's, Ben's, Mike's and Eddie's clothes and faces.

Ben and Beverly were laughing hysterically while Mike was trying to remove flour from his clothes, but when he raised his head Richie could tell he was laughing, too. Eddie, on the other hand, was so angry with them that Richie thought he was going to have an asthma attack. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU LITTLE SHIT-" he was caught off by Stan, who threw a towel at him while keeping his distance, not wanting to get his clothes dirty with flour and also Nutella, Richie now noticed.

"My mom's gonna kill me if she sees me like that!" Eddie whined. "Thanks, Stan." He added, trying to clean his Nutella smeared face. Richie thought it was the cutest thing he's seen all week.

"What the fuck happened here, anyway? It looks like a fucking war zone." Richie turned to Ben for an explanation, trying his best not to make eye contact with Eddie - scared he'll blush or make a fool out of himself and be completely obvious.

Ben seemed to suppress a laugh as he tried getting flour out of his hair. "We had some, uh, disagreements on how to make pancakes. Turns out none of us really knows how to make them," Ben replied and Bev and Bill giggled. "Or how to make cereals," Mike added, looking at the Cheerios covered floor, and they all laughed, even Eddie, who was now trying to clean his shirt.

"You're all such losers," Richie said and grinned, no insult in his voice.

They all sat down together after they got cleaned up a bit and ate whatever pancakes they didn't burn. Richie was pouring himself some cereals when Bev asked, "So, Richie, Eddie, you two slept well at night?" She gave them a knowing smile, and Bill looked like he almost choked on a spoonful of Cheerios.

Richie, who's face lost the little color it had, replied before Eddie, or anyone else, could. "Oh yeah, I dreamed about Eddie's mom so I slept just fine." He retorted lamely, saying the first thing that popped into his head. He gave Beverly a meaningful look while the others snickered, and hoped she got the message.

Eddie, on the other hand, wasn't so amused with him. "I swear I'll mess you up, Richie," he half heartedly threatened him, looking at him straight in the eye and his cheeks flushed, but Richie couldn't take him seriously when he still had a bit of Nutella smeared above his left eyebrow.

"Woah there, Eds, get that Nutella off of you and then we'll wrestle all you want," Richie winked at him, sounding as confident as possible despite now believing everyone at the table saw him and Eddie cuddle.

"Shut the hell up, dumbass. Where?" Eddie asked, touching his face to find the Nutella spot. "Uh," Richie squinted his eyes and pretended to examine Eddie's face, "right... Here." He gestured to all of Eddie's face, and everyone laughed.

"Honestly, you're so unfunny," Eddie frowned. He found the spot and tried smearing it on Richie's face, the latter quickly grabbing his arm as he did so, but he let him have his revenge anyway.

"You love me," Richie joked, getting up to wash his now chocolate smeared cheek.

***

A while passed since Bill's sleepover and since what Richie likes to call, 'The Eddie Incident'. Thankfully, nobody brought it up, and Eddie haven't mentioned it even once. He hung with them regularly, and with Eddie too, obviously, but as time went by he felt like he couldn't hold his secret in for much longer.

He suspected the others knew, or questioned it at least once, but he tried thinking about it as little as possible.

Richie gave up trying to get over his crush on Eddie long ago, but he also couldn't risk ruining his friendship with Eddie by telling him what's been on his chest for forever now.

He felt stuck in the middle and he hated it.

***

Another school day has come to its end, and Richie was shoving his books into his locker as Eddie was waiting next to him.

They were meeting up to study for a science quiz they're having on Wednesday; Richie actually knew the material by heart, but he could never pass an opportunity to spend some time with Eddie, so he was keen when Eddie made his offer.

Richie was getting his science textbook out as Eddie was gleefully talking about a new game that was added to their town's Arcade.

"..and I heard it has, like, a fire spitting dragon in the boss level you have to defeat, and a princess you must save before the castle burns down. We have to check it out with the others." He rambled excitedly, and Richie coyly hid his smile at his friend's enthusiasm.

"Sounds to me like saving a princess is unnecessary when we already have you in our group, Eds," a playful grin was plastered on his face as Eddie's lips pressed into a thin line. "Besides, why play anything else in the Arcade when you have 'Street Fighter'?"

"First of all, shut the fuck up," Eddie quickly replied, lightly punching Richie's shoulder in irritation. "Second of all, 'Street Fighter' is the ONLY thing you play at the Arcade, Richie. Ever heard about this thing called diversity?"

Richie slammed his locker shut and turned to Eddie once more, propping his school bag on his shoulder. "Only when it comes to the female population," he joked and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. He kinda felt bad for lying to Eddie and slightly cringed at his own statement, since the exact opposite was the truth - he had pretty much zero interest in girls. Boys, on the other hand...

Eddie made a half frowny, half disgusted face at his statement and honestly, Richie couldn't blame him. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Eddie's shoulders and quickly added, "Come on, your place or mine, princess?" While pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, hiding his rose tinted cheeks behind his hand. They started walking down the hall and towards the school exit, passing through a wave of other students.

"Don't call me that," Eddie said in protest, but Richie could've sworn he saw his cheeks were reddening, too. Maybe he just imagined it in the heat of the moment, feeling elevated from being so close to Eddie.

The two boys were met with the early afternoon air, warm haze and clear sky greeting them as they walk side by side in contentment. A warm feeling went through Richie's spine and he had an irresistible urge to smile, suddenly feeling so lovestruck that he could almost spill his entire heart to Eddie and divulge his most latent secret; it was that exact moment where Richie felt like he belonged there, right next to Eddie, and wished it would never end.

Richie knew it had to, though. Fearing he might've crossed a line, he swiftly dropped his hand from Eddie's shoulders, and tried making the movement seem as natural as possible. He was just about to look at Eddie's face for a reaction when he was yanked back forcefully by his school bag. Caught off guard, he barely got his palms out in time to take most of the hit, and they were met with the ground beneath him soon enough. His head nearly hit the pavement, glasses almost smashing as he finally comprehended what was going on.

"Missed me, faggots?" Henry Bowers all but spat at them, his fists clenched tightly, face red with anger. Richie stumbled to his feet, heart beating so hard he could hear it in his ears. He took a protective step back to where Eddie was standing, frozen with fear.

Patrick Hockstetter and Victor Criss were standing next to Henry, left and right, like some sort of dumb, loyal gorillas. Before Richie could let any words out of his mouth, Henry punched him square in the face.

Richie only vaguely heard a loud scream behind them, falling to the ground once again as the harsh blow made him fuzzy for a few seconds. He felt a hard kick to his side, the air being momentarily knocked out of him. "FUCKING LEAVE US ALONE!" Richie heard Eddie scream out, then heard a loud blow and a cry of pain that followed right after.

Despite his aching body telling him otherwise, Richie got up to his feet when the kicking momentarily stopped, blinking quickly at the scenario playing in front of him: Henry was getting ready for another impending hit, fists drawn in and a vicious look on his face. Richie turned his head right. Eddie was laying on the ground, hands covering his face, body curled up in pain as Vic was kicking him over and over. Patrick was standing about ten feet away from them, laughing ruthlessly at their suffering.

Magically forgetting the fact that Henry was about to take another hit at him, Richie quickly turned to where Eddie and Vic were. Vic was with his back faced to Richie, and he thought of a plan he was adamant to pull off.

He sprinted over, legs taking him as quickly as they could. "Eddie, Get up!" He shouted, his messy hair falling over his wide eyes. Losing whatever fear he had a moment ago, he pushed Vic as forcefully as he could, the latter tumbling over in surprise and falling next to where Eddie was laying.

Eddie, who was almost too shocked to comprehend what was going on, followed Richie's command and rose up to his feet, Richie grabbing his arm to prevent him from falling again.

They started running, Henry's hand missing Richie's flowing shirt by only a second. "Get back here, you fucking fairies! I'm going to fucking END YOU!" He screamed, but the two boys didn't dare looking back.

Richie released his grip from Eddie's arm to hold his hand instead, and Eddie latched onto it tightly. They heard impending footsteps closely behind as they escaped the three bullies.

Clinging to each other for dear life, Richie and Eddie fled down the street, Richie's hawaiian shirt flowing behind him. Passerby gave them weird looks at their entangled hands and terror-stircken faces, but the two boys couldn't care less.

Richie frantically scanned the area for a hideout, but Eddie beat him to it. "There!" The shorter boy said with an equal amount of panic Richie felt, and the latter turned his head to where Eddie was pointing. It was a narrow alleyway that was familiar to the both of them, leading to one of Derry's main streets.

Eddie was panting heavily, almost wheezing at this point, and Richie knew it won't be long until he'll absolutely have to stop running and use his inhaler. "J-Just a bit more, buddy," Richie tried comforting him, also out of breath - he felt like his lungs could burst in any second now.

They crossed the road, legs almost flying on the concrete. Barely looking if there were any cars passing by, they entered the alley. The boys somehow managed to distance themselves from the Bowers gang, and had a slight advantage on them.

They abruptly stopped running when they reached the main street. Eddie released his grip from Richie's hand, his palms dropping on his knees as his chest was heaving up and down, ragged breaths torn from his lips, face red from all the effort.

Richie, thinking as fast as he could in the situation, spotted a small pharmacy across the street that was almost hidden by the large stores surrounding it.

"Eds," He panted, hastily pointing at the place. Eddie gave him a quick nod of approval and off they went.

Richie opened the old, white door of the pharmacy for Eddie to get in, and leaped inside right after. By the time the door was closed shut, Henry Bowers and his gang barged into the street, looking around furious and confused as there was no sight of the boys they had tormented only minutes ago.

Richie, not caring anymore if Henry and his friends were still on their tails or not, crouched on the rug covered floor next to Eddie, who was fumbling with the inhaler he took out of his pouch. Richie noticed he was bleeding from his left eyebrow, and his eyes travelled down to an angry, red gash on his right arm.

Taking a hasty drag from his inhaler, Eddie gasped out, letting out a fragile breath. He dropped his face into his palms, arms propped on his legs, his mouth slightly open as he tried breathing evenly again, his chest rising and falling with effort.

His heart dropping at the sight, Richie did the only helpful thing he could think of - he got up and started looking for first aid stuff. He grabbed a pack of cotton, rubbing alcohol, gauze and some bandages from the heavily packed shelves and headed to pay, mindlessly thinking how convenient it is that they entered a pharmacy of all places. He had a throwback to the day they had saved Ben Hanscom after the Bowers gang's vicious attack on him, although it was at a different pharmacy in another part of the small town.

Richie leaned wearily onto the counter and gave whatever amount of money he owed the cashier for his stuff. It crossed his mind that the guy probably hadn't even noticed him and Eddie entering the pharmacy in the first place.

It was only then that he felt his aching cheekbone and left side of his stomach on full force. Richie was glad the guy didn't ask any questions about his face, where an ugly bruise was probably starting to form. He only now noticed his palms were bleeding - probably from blocking his fall, Richie thought - but his pain didn't matter anymore as he quickly took his things back to where Eddie was sitting.

Eddie was leaned against the shelf he had left him at, eyes closed and chest slowly rising and falling, looking completely exhausted. He turned his head slightly when Richie approached him, opening his eyes and looking at him. "Hey, Rich. You okay?" He asked weakly, examining him for any injuries. He quickly spotted the blood on his palms. "Oh fuck, Richie," he pointed at him, "your hands."

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," Richie instinctively replied. He carelessly wiped it off with some tissue paper he had in his school bag, trying his best not to flinch. The plastic bag filled with cotton, alcohol and bandages hanging from his arm as he did so.

Richie got down on his knees, dropping his school bag and the medical stuff to the floor. He took everything out, ripped a piece of cotton and dipped it with rubbing alcohol.

To Eddie's dismay, Richie gently pressed it to the bleeding cut above his eyebrow as he grounded his face with his other hand, muttering an apology when Eddie hissed in pain. "Be careful, dickface," Eddie said, no venom in his voice.

Eddie's skin was soft beneath his fingers and their faces were so close. Richie hoped he wasn't visibly blushing, but he was intent on helping Eddie so he pushed his thoughts aside.

"Almost done," Richie announced as he softly covered Eddie's cut with a bandage, having an urge to kiss his pain away. He didn't, of course, and instead he threw the used cotton into the bag and tore another piece from the pack, dipping it with alcohol.

He was about to clean the gash on Eddie's arm when the boy next to him snatched it from his hand. "I can handle it, Rich. Take care of your hands, alright?" He pleaded, staring at Richie's palms with a pained expression.

Surprised he even let him clean his cut in the first place with his hands being so dirty, Richie nodded weakly and started cleaning his own hands with rubbing alcohol, his face contorting in pain every now and then.

Eddie was putting another bandage on his wound when he saw Richie was struggling to wrap his left hand with gauze. "Here, let me," he said softly, Richie's heart stopping for a moment when Eddie reached for his hand, held it firmly and started wrapping the bandage around his cleaned cuts.

Richie was awestruck. He silently watched as Eddie did the same with his right hand, who was less badly wounded than his left one. Eddie's long lashes opened and closed as he meticulously wrapped his wounds, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, a few rebellious strands of hair falling over his eyes. Suddenly Richie forgot all about the physical pain he was under.

His heart was beating so hard he could've sworn even the cashier guy could hear it. He felt so much love towards Eddie that moment, to the point where he was almost scared of how consuming it was. Years of pent up feelings were pouring down on him, filling him up until he just couldn't hold them in anymore. Fear momentarily took over him at the thought of what he was about to do, but Richie had already made up his mind.

_ __ _

_ __ _

"I'm going to do something really stupid, Eds," he said, voice weak as Eddie finished wrapping him up, making sure the bandage was firm. Eddie lifted his head to look at him, his hand still holding his bandaged one, a confused expression on his soft features. "What is it, Rich?" He asked, and Richie was gone.

The press of lips was soft and tentative, catching the shorter boy off guard. Richie didn't find the courage to ground Eddie's face with his free hand, and instead settled with dropping it onto his own lap, letting the kiss linger a little more. It felt like the world had stopped rotating and everything else had ceased to exist except for the two of them. Nothing else mattered except for that moment, the moment Richie had been dreaming of for so long - kissing the boy that had taken over his heart and wouldn't leave ever since.

Richie eventually pulled back, tense and afraid, his hands shaking and his heart drumming in his ears. It dawned on him that Eddie didn't move even once throughout the kiss, his frozen hand still on top of Richie's.

Eddie blinked, showing his first sign of life, his mouth slightly ajar and eyes wide. He stared at Richie with an unreadable expression, and the heavy realization of what he just did hit Richie like a truck.

"Fuck, Eddie, listen, I didn't mean to do that," Richie blurted out, panic washing over him as he begged his mind to think of any excuse it could come up with, but he knew nothing he'll say or do could ever change the fact that he just kissed Eddie fucking Kaspbrak.

Before he could come up with any good explanation, or any explanation period, Eddie beat him to it. "Shut up, Richie," he whispered, grabbing the hem of Richie's shirt and pulling him back, their lips pressing together once more.

A jolt ran through Richie's back as he melted into the kiss. His thick glasses were awkwardly pressed into Eddie's cheek, but neither of them seemed to care. In the back of his head, Richie couldn't believe what was happening but he was taking in every bit of it, shyly reaching up to place his bandaged palm against Eddie's neck.

They were both blushing when they pulled apart, looking shyly at one another. When his heart finally slowed down to a normal pace, Richie was the first one to speak. He wanted to crack a joke but he just couldn't, feeling exposed like he never was before in his life. He figured if he had come this far, he might as well not keep his emotions at bay. "Well, I guess it's unnecessary to say that I kinda like you. A lot." He looked down at the rug covered floor as if it was the most interesting thing he's ever seen, feeling shy and insecure.

"Yeah me too," Eddie said, and Richie quickly raised his head to look at him. He felt like he was on cloud nine, as if it was all a dream - he didn't believe there was any chance of Eddie actually liking him back, and accepted his faith of having to spend the rest of his life repressing his feelings for him. But no - there was the boy of his dreams, his big eyes gleaming at him, telling him he feels the same way. Richie could almost cry of happiness.

"Holy shit," Richie breathed out and Eddie giggled, his cheeks tinted pink. "Holy shit indeed," Eddie agreed, a laugh escaping his lips. "Let's get out of here," he suggested right after, starting to collect the first aid stuff back into the plastic bag.

"Fuck yeah, let's get the hell outta here," Richie fervently agreed, throwing the plastic bag into his school bag and then over his shoulders with ease, "let's go check that new Arcade game you told me about earlier."

Eddie snickered, "We still need to study for that science quiz, remember?" He said. Richie looked at him, outraged.

"Come on, can't I at least take you out on a proper date?" Richie joked, giving him an exaggerated begging face. Eddie smiled at him playfully. "If that's what you have in mind when you think of a 'proper' date, then you might as well try harder than that, Rich." He teasingly said, but gave him the warmest smile Richie has ever seen.

"You just wait," Richie replied as he stood up, offering his hand out and a shy smile. Eddie grabbed him by his arm, avoiding hurting his wounded hand, and Richie held onto his arm as he helped him up.

Eddie was now standing right in front of Richie, head slightly raised to look into his eyes. Butterflies filled Richie's stomach as they stood so close to each other, hands intertwined. He couldn't help but ask, "Can I kiss you again?"

Eddie's lips curved up into a sweet smile, his big doe eyes flickering from Richie's brown orbs to his mouth. Richie's heart skipped a beat. Eddie leaned a little, then looked away before their lips could meet - changing his mind halfway through, a playful look playing on his face in contrast to Richie's flustered one. "We'll see about that when we get to your house." He smirked, making his way out of the pharmacy door and into the late afternoon air, leaving Richie standing there, stunned.

He quickly got back to his senses, though - he opened the door clumsily, surged outside and started chasing after Eddie.

"Is that a promise for a makeout session I hear?" Richie half joked, pushing his luck. A chill ran down his back as the cool breeze hit him. Eddie simply laughed at Richie's bluntness. "Shut up, Richie," he replied with ease. Richie wrapped his right hand around his shoulders affectionately as they strolled back to the alleyway they had came from.

"There's a pretty easy way to get me to shut up, you know," Richie hinted, winking. It was Eddie's turn to blush now. He gave Richie a disbelieving look, shaking his head in amusement.

Eddie quickly glanced at both ends of the alley, mindlessly checking if there's anybody there but them. Finding it to be empty, he looked back at the taller boy, taking a step closer while reaching on his tiptoes. He leaned in and Richie met him halfway, his hands wrapping around the smaller boy's frame as Eddie's were gently holding his face.

Richie believed in magic again as they stood there, eyes closed, kissing each other in a way he had only dared to dream of. The evening breeze didn't bother him anymore as he was filled with warmth, and he smiled into the kiss.

"We're going to catch a cold if we stay here," Eddie said when he leaned away, breaking the kiss. His hands dropped from Richie's face to lightly press on his chest instead. Richie, not wanting to break contact just yet, tightened his hold around Eddie's back, embracing him a little more. "I know a way to keep you warm," Richie grinned, "Let's head back to my place and I'll let you cuddle me again." Richie teased, relishing the way Eddie's face turned crimson red, memories of Bill's sleepover flooding back to the smaller boy.

"I-I was extremely tired that night," he spluttered, taking a step back and cutting their embrace, but Richie could only give him a smug look in return. "You know what, fuck you," he fervently added, the color still permanent on his face.

"It's all good, Eds, I had a great time being your personal teddy bear." Richie replied, smiling fondly at his blushing Eddie. His. Oh God, who would've ever thought he'd be able to call Eddie his? "For the last time - don't call me Eds, Trashmouth." Eddie said with a stern look. He gave in about a second after, though, cracking an unruly smile.

Richie grinned. "Sorry, but no way I'm ever going to."

Eddie didn't reply. He had a sweet smile playing on his lips as he started walking down the alley, and Richie followed suit. Their shoulders bumped every once in a while as they walked side by side in peace. Richie felt a huge wave of happiness wash over him, as if for once everything was right with the world; the boy of his dreams was walking besides him, looking at him like he always wished he would, affection and warmth pouring from his big, brown eyes. What else could Richie Tozier ask for?


End file.
